Here I raise My Ebenezer

I played the Bible game this morning and as it often does, the Bible fell open to an inconvenient place. The passage was in Hebrews and the topics are purification, sacrifice and the New Covenant none of which are hot topics in modern life. There was a lengthy discussion of priests, temples, purification procedures, sacrifices and lots of blood... LOTS of blood. The writer of Hebrews was creating a theological argument using the religious context of his day for Christ as the ultimate sacrifice, the final offering of blood shed for sins. There would be no more need for goats and calves, doves and heifers to be killed after Christ’s death and resurrection.
Blood sacrifices... how does this have any meaning for us? Most of us live in cities and towns far removed from the bloody realities of living close to nature. We do not find half eaten chickens in our yards or see the bloody patch on the pond ice where a duck has been killed by a predator. Our steaks and fish come wrapped and cleaned with none of the messiness that accompanies blood sacrifice. Consequently, we eat mindlessly without gratitude for the gift of life that comes at the expense of life.
Parents know the meaning of blood sacrifice. The first time you hold your child, the love that springs into being would let you lay down your life for this other person. And, you do lay down your life over and over again as you struggle through nights without sleep, fearful unexplained fevers, trips to the emergency room, more sleepless nights as they become teen drivers, presence and protection even as they grow up and leave your home.
My dad lived for two years after his illness was diagnosed because others gave blood for his transfusions. Once a month, then every two weeks he received the gift of life, fresh blood, offered by others as a necessary sacrifice.
One of my favorite hymns is “Come, Thou Fount”. The second verse, often a source of giggles and glee among the children of the church, provides assurance and a call for me. “Here I raise my Ebenezer, Hither by Thy help I’m come; And I hope, by Thy good pleasure, Safely to arrive at home. Jesus sought me when a stranger, Wand’ring from the fold of God; He, to rescue me from danger, Interposed his precious blood.”
Since Jesus laid down his life for me, I must lay down my life for others. My blood sacrifice is shaped by the gifts I have been given and the skills I have learned. It can be inconvenient, messy, painful, joyful, life giving and faithful, but it is the breath of life for my soul. Without sacrifice, the shedding of my own blood, no new life can come into being. So I show up in the places with the people to whom I am called. I listen, like the boy Samuel, to hear God calling my name leading me to a particular service. And, I give thanks for the Fount of Blessing who tunes my heart to sing grace, binds my wandering heart with love and calls me to offer myself, to lay down my life for others. May it be so, please, Lord?